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Opinion: Readers mourn the likely end of P-22 -- ‘Los Angeles needs him. I need him’

Griffith Park mountain lion P-22 was recently captured and examined by wildlife officials.
(Miguel Ordeñana / Natural History Museum)
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What a sad way to close the year: P-22 has been captured and will likely never roam in Griffith Park again. Reading about the death of wildlife and destruction of their habitat is a fact of (human) life in Southern California, but our letter writers have been especially jarred by the news of mountain lion P-22’s distress.

Los Angeles elicits derision by outsiders as a city of facade more than substance, and P-22’s decade-long survival inside Griffith Park belied that. But our celebration of P-22 couldn’t spare him the poisonings and other kinds of suffering that humanity inflicts on so many other, less famous mountain lions.

I can safely guess that P-22 has seen me, even if I haven’t seen him. I like to think that all those early morning and late evening runs on Griffith Park’s most remote trails produced at least one unknown close encounter with him. Let’s hope our other local pumas (the Verdugo Mountains are home to two such predators, Adonis and Nikita) fare better than P-22.

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To the editor: In the past 10 years, I’ve had the queasy privilege of sharing my serial full moon and midnight runs to Mt. Hollywood with P-22.

While I never had a direct encounter with our local lion, his presumed presence was always palpable and added a level of anxiety to my wanderings that rendered the stark shadows of the moonlit landscape utterly exhilarating. He was the phantom that occupied every overhanging tree, each hollow, and every sharp turn. These primal willies led me to vary my pace, slowing as I approached potential hazards, then propelled by fear to my rear.

As a lifelong lover of felines, I eventually came to terms with this apex predator. As we were both approaching our later years, I came to accept that he was present on my runs, grinning somewhere from the darkest regions of the landscape, and those of my psyche.

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His removal from Griffith Park concludes a rich chapter of my life and for all who found a place in their heart for this most unlikely urban neighbor.

Ross Rudel, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Thanks to editorial writer Carla Hall for her commentary on P-22, our resident mountain lion here in Los Angeles.

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I have been involved in advocacy for P-22 the entire 10 years since he managed to safely cross our two busiest freeways. I have been to in-person meetings. I have been to screenings of a movie about his life. I have been to educational meetings learning not only about him, but about all mountain lions and wildlife in the area.

I have financially supported him and the wildlife crossing currently under construction. And I have had the pleasure to meet and make friends with the California director of the National Wildlife Federation.

P-22 is part of my life. And while I know that will not always be so, I support him being here. Los Angeles needs him. I need him. I hope and pray that my fellow Angelenos also feel the same.

Janet Hoben, Chatsworth

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To the editor: When I saw the first images of mountain lion P-22 in the custody of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, I had a sinking feeling we were witnessing his impending demise. And of course it follows: Biologists now think they may need to euthanize P-22, for his own good.

After enduring repeated druggings at their hands; after being burdened with a large, awkward GPS collar that probably even prevents him from cleaning large areas of his body; after consuming many poisoned, nearly dead rodents and making it across freeways repeatedly, this may be the best solution they can offer: Get rid of him so they can move on to their next formerly wild animal.

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What a pathetic and painful end for a beloved figure, even if he’s unaware of his hold on our collective imagination.

Paul Ryan, Brea

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To the editor: This line in Hall’s editorial struck me: “Did his leonine desire to roam lead him to cross the delicate boundary between his territory and ours?”

I guess that P-22 recognizes no boundaries (save possibly that of another male’s territory) and perceives only danger or opportunity.

What to do? P-22 is old. Consider humans facing their last days and hours. Many wish only to be allowed to die at home.

Bob Wieting, Simi Valley

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To the editor: If P-22 was in the wild, he would just live out his days until he dies. Why can’t we just return him to Griffith Park and let that happen rather than keep him in captivity, where he won’t do well, or put him in a sanctuary, where he won’t do well either?

I had read he took down a deer just recently. So it isn’t like he’s not able to forage for food. And if people with small dogs are concerned by P-22’s recent attacks on chihuahuas, they need to take care and pay attention when they’re walking their dog.

Gerald Orcholski, Pasadena

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To the editor: I think P-22 should get a star on Hollywood Boulevard.

Ruth Stern, Shadow Hills

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